AMD addition to Nasdaq-100 a 'small near-term positive', says RBC Capital. RBC Capital analyst Mitch Steves notes the addition of AMD (AMD) to the Nasdaq-100 index announced late on Friday, which also contained the inclusion of lululemon (LULU), NetApp (NTAP), United Continental Holdings (UAL), VeriSign (VRSN) and Willis Towers Watson (WLTW) and the subtraction of Express Scripts Holding (ESRX), Hologic (HOLX), Qurate Retail (QRTEA), Shire (SHPG), Seagate Technology (STX) and Vodafone Plc (VOD). The analyst believes that the change - which will become effective before the market open on December 24th - could act as a "small near-term positive" for AMD shares, even though it does not change its fundamentals. Longer term, the analyst keeps his Outperform rating and $34 price target on AMD, but warns that the company is faced with a crypto currency downdraft in the Gaming segment and that he is also cautious on the hyperscale spending trends next year which he estimates in the low single digits. Steves adds that the notable investor debate is also taking place around the AMD server average selling prices, which he sees coming in around $5,400 - the higher end of the more bullish forecasts of $5K-$6K vs. the bears' estimate around $4K.

Catch up on the weekend's top five stories with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Incyte (INCY) and Innovent Biologics announced that the companies, through their respective subsidiaries, have entered into a strategic collaboration agreement for three clinical-stage product candidates discovered and developed by Incyte-pemigatinib, itacitinib and parsaclisib. Under the terms of the agreement, Innovent will pay Incyte $40M in cash up front, and Incyte shall be eligible to receive an additional $20M in consideration in connection with the first investigational new drug application by Innovent in China, which is expected to be achieved in 2019. Innovent will receive the rights to develop and commercialize the three assets in hematology and oncology in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. In addition, Incyte will be eligible to receive up to $129M in potential development and regulatory milestones, and up to $202.5M in potential commercial milestones. Incyte will also be eligible to receive tiered royalties from the high teens to the low twenties on future sales of products resulting from the collaboration. 2. U.S. health-care stocks are poised for a potentially ugly trading session Monday as investors weigh in on a judge's ruling that Obamacare is unconstitutional, according to Bloomberg. A judge sided with Texas late Friday in a lawsuit alleging that Congress's decision in 2017 to kill a related tax penalty essentially voided the entire Affordable Care Act, the report noted. Publicly traded companies in the space include Aetna (AET), Anthem (ANTM), Centene (CNC), Cigna (CI), Health Net (HNT), Humana (HUM), Molina Healthcare (MOH), UnitedHealth (UNH) and WellCare (WCG). 3. As U.S. stocks stumble toward what could be their first yearly loss since 2015, next year is looking rather sunny, Vito Racanelli wrote in this week's edition of Barron's. There were many highs and lows in 2018, but short of a miraculous rally in the year's remaining 10 trading sessions, the stock market's returns this year could resemble a lump of coal, the publication noted. However, the clock starts afresh on January 1 and if just a few things go right, 2019 could be a happier year, with U.S. stocks seen rallying about 10%, the report added. 4. Sony's (SNE) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" swung to $35.4M in its weekend debut, making it the best December opening ever for an animated movie. Overseas, the pic got off to a softer start, earning $21M from 44 markets for a global start of $56.4M. "Spider-Man: Into de Spider-Verse" earned an A+ CinemaScore and sports a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. 5. Alphabet (GOOG; GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), Bank of America (BAC), BlackRock (BLK), Caterpillar (CAT), Chevron (CVX), Daimler (DDAIF), Delta Air Lines (DAL), Energy Transfer (ET) and Toll Brothers (TOL) saw positive mentions in Barron's.

Cigna resumed with an Overweight at Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley analyst Zack Sopcak resumed coverage of Cigna with an Overweight rating and $304 price target, stating that he views the Express Scripts deal as less of a vertical integration play and more of a "basic building block for future transformative growth." The risks to Express Scripts execution are more headline than operational, contends Sopcak, who projects Cigna earnings above $21 in 2021, which he notes is above management's stated target.

Walmart (WMT) and Express Scripts (ESRX) announced an extension to the companies' existing network agreement to provide access to Walmart's prescription services for Express Scripts clients' covered members. The companies also made a commitment to deliver additional affordable prescription solutions to millions of underinsured and uninsured Americans. As part of the ongoing relationship, Walmart is partnering with Express Scripts' to access their unique pricing on dozens of brand-name prescription drugs, and create additional value for its customers. As one example, Express Scripts has introduced a novel solution - InsideRx -- to provide discounts, on average 40%, to uninsured Americans on a growing number of important brand-name prescription drugs. Express Scripts works with major drug manufacturers to lower the cost of high-priced medications and will continue to expand the program and deliver savings on additional medications for the whole family.

Bearish flow noted in Cigna with 2,791 puts trading, or 2x expected. Most active are Jan-19 195 puts and 12/14 weekly 215 calls, with total volume in those strikes near 2,200 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 2.68, while ATM IV is up nearly 3 points on the day. Earnings are expected on February 1st.

Anthem price target raised to $330 from $305 at Cantor Fitzgerald. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Steven Halper raised his price target for Anthem to $330 after management said in investor meetings that it will use $3.2B from its pharmacy benefit manager savings beginning in 2020 and 2021 to drive membership growth in subsequent years. Accordingly, the analyst increased his top-line growth assumptions. He expects membership and revenue to grow faster without sacrificing margins and keeps an Overweight rating on Anthem.